PROFILE|CECILIACHNG

Having dreamed of being a makeup artist and salon owner ever since she was a schoolgirl, Cecilia Chng’s journey as a professional in the beauty industry began after clinching a prize two-week trip to Paris, France, from the Harriet Hubbard Ayer Makeup Awards when she was just 20 years old.

There, she had the opportunity try her hand working on Pret-a-Porter at Paris Fashion Week, under the guidance of one of the world’s most famous makeup designers. Ms Chng went on to further her trade with the Complexions London School of Makeup in the 1990s.

Upon returning to Singapore, her love and passion for the makeup and fashion industry drove her to co-found Faceworks and subsequently, Vive Salon – a hair and beauty boutique in Paragon (Orchard Road) established by Cecilia and a partner 20 years ago – before opening Cecilia Chng Beauty at LS Philosophy, Thong Teck Building. Over the years, she has built an outstanding reputation as one of Singapore’s leading celebrity makeup artists, with her works making regular appearances on the iconic Singapore Girl in television commercials for the Singapore Airlines ‘Great Way to Fly’ campaign in the 1990s, as well as MediaCorp events such as Star Search.

Ms Chng has worked on the faces of world-renowned beauty, fashion and celebrity powerhouses including the likes of supermodels Kimora Lee Simmons Naomi Campbell, and even the late Anna Nicole Smith. Locally, she is regularly in demand among reputed artistes such as Dick Lee, Patricia Mok and Fiona Xie, as well as high-profile socialites Kim Lim, Jaime Chua and Chiang Yu Lan.

Jet-setting professionals and industry luminaries have also entrusted their makeup and eyebrow enhancement needs to Ms Chng, such as Grace Ban, Managing Director of Estee Lauder Cosmetics; Medical Doctor Caroline Low-Heah; and Trina Liang-Lin, Managing Director of Templebridge Investments, just to name a few.